ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Todd Kalas is reminded every time he sees the uniform. That's when his eyes go to the HK over the heart of every Philadelphia Phillies player and coach.
"Every once in a while, you are doing your thing and you see that jersey and it grabs you," he said.
The initials are a tribute to his father, legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas, who died of a heart attack on April 13 in Washington while making out the Nationals' lineup while they prepared to play his beloved Phillies. He was 73.
For 38 summers, Harry's baritone voice connected Phillies fans from the Jersey Shore to the hills of Pennsylvania to their heroes. He was as much a part of the Philadelphia sports scene as Mike Schmidt, Julius Erving, Bobby Clarke and any other athlete who wore a Phillies, Eagles, 76ers or Flyers uniform.
But when Todd Kalas awoke in New York June 21, for the first time he could not call his father to wish him happy Fathers' Day. And when the Phillies were at Tropicana Field last week for their interleague series, Todd Kalas saw a void whenever he peered into the booth.
"This has been a different week starting with Fathers' Day and knowing the Phillies were going to be in town," Todd said last week. "It's been a little odd to see a lot of people I have known these years and not having dad around."
Todd, 43, is the Rays' host and reporter for Fox Sports Florida and Sun Sports. He followed his father into the business after dabbling in marketing at the University of Maryland, then at Syracuse.
Broadcasting was in his blood. Had to be for a kid who said he grew up in Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, always keeping score in his "little scorebook," and then working next to his dad in the radio booth on Sundays updating out-of-town scores.
Those times together in the booth became rare when Todd joined the Rays for their inaugural season in 1998. He has had several other gigs, including broadcasting college football, basketball and baseball in Louisville; working South Florida basketball games and pre-game for the Tampa Bay Lightning as well as calling Phillies games for PRISM (never with his dad) and some Mets games.
But the one moment he will cherish was from last fall's 2008 World Series when the unlikely pairing brought father and son together in the same booth.
Phillies vs. Rays.
Kalas vs. Kalas.
"It was an amazing circumstance to have us both together at the World Series, the longest of long shots for the Rays to get there and then for the Phillies to be their opponent," Todd said.
Harry asked the Phillies if he and Todd could call an inning together. It happened in the fourth inning of Game 1, an inning in which each team scored a run.
"It was just the two of us talking about the game of baseball," Todd said. "It happened to be the biggest stage, the Fall Classic, the first game and all of that. But just the two of us hanging out and talking about the game."
In the end, the Phillies won the rain-soaked series and Harry called the final out, his first World Series-winning call in his last postseason game.
"Everything that last year seemed like it was set up magically," Todd said. "He had the final season with the World Series, he called the final out, something he always wanted to do and didn't get the chance in 1980."
Sitting in Todd's home is an incomplete lineup card. Hours after Harry died, a worker cleaning out the visitors' radio booth at Nationals Park found papers on the floor and got them to Todd.
On one piece was the handwriting that Todd recognized. It was his dad's. He had completed the Phillies' lineup and got as far at the first two letters of Adam Dunn's name, the Nationals' cleanup hitter.
"It's great closure," Todd said. "You know exactly what he was doing in his final moments on this planet."
Tom D'Angelo writes for The Palm Beach Post. E-mail: tom(underscore)dangelo(at)pbpost.com.